RoofTop realisations
by Snowflakes-GSR
Summary: Sara considers her options, and what she really wants in her life. Both Greg/Sara AND Grissom/Sara fans may like this (but what do i know?) - :: complete::
1. Chapter 1

**Author:** Lithium Shamrock (LS)  
  
**Spoilers:** None.  
  
**Paring:** unrequited G/s and Gr/S  
  
**Authors note**: Just a short fic, showing that Grissom is unintentionally "mean" to Sara, and that Greg has more on his mind than Spandex…  
  
---------------  
  
"Damn!" Sara yelled, slamming the roof door shut, at such a speed, it merely bounced back open. She turned and looked it with disgust. _'I can't even shut a door,'_ she muttered to herself, walking to the edge.   
  
No one knew about up here.   
  
'_Well, maybe the structural engineers, the fire officers, the designers……'  
_  
Well, no one knew she came here when she was upset.   
  
_Upset?_ Today upset was probably an understand.

_ 'Maybe I'm going crazy, or being hormonal. Damn, I hope I'm going crazy, because if I'm just being hormonal, it means nothing. Well, it means I'm female.'_   
  
Grissom was doing it again. Ignoring her. She had spoken to him, and he just looked right through her and walked of.   
  
_Damn him. Damn his non-emotive state. And damn his stupid cockroaches._   
  
"Sara?" she looked round to see Greg, he was gingerly edging nearer to her. 

_What was she doing up here? Why was she so close to the edge?_  
  
"I'm not jumping Greg," she said, half in jest, but with undertones of being annoyed. _How the hell did he know she was up here?   
_  
"Yeah, well, I wouldn't, I don't think its far enough down." He said, awkwardly looking from her, to over the edge. She gave him a cold stare, which resulted in Greg looking down to his feet, then away from her.   
  
He never knew where he was with Sara; she would go between being happy and upbeat, to being depressed. He preferred her happy.   
  
He looked back to her, "you up here to think," he said casually, before looking to the landscape.   
  
"Yeah," she respond, eyes still fixed on the very same landscape. "…But what would you know about that?" she said, voice brimming full of sarcasm.   
  
"Fine!" He said in disgust, throwing up his hands, "if you want to be alone…" he started, walking away.   
  
"No, Greg," she said turning back to him.   
  
He turned to her; his eyes were dark and bore holes through her.   
  
He might be a lab rat, he might mess about, but this lab rat has feeling.   
  
"….I don't really want to be alone," she admitted.   
  
His façade softened, and he joined her back at the edge of the building, but instead of looking to the landscape, he leaned on the railings with his back to it. Sara followed suit.   
  
"So what are you thinking about," Greg said softly, breaking the silence.  
  
"A guy," Sara responded, she looked to him, and he grinned.   
  
"Ah L'amoure," Greg said in a bad Italian accent.   
  
Sara smiled and shook her head. "Not love Greg, well…not anymore, I hate him now." she said, with the realisation washing over her face.   
  
Greg looked confused, "I didn't know you were dating." She inwardly smiled; he doesn't know it's Grissom.   
  
"I'm not…he, he doesn't know…he doesn't know I …that I love him," she awkwardly stuttered.   
  
"Unrequited love then," he said giving Sara a knowledgeable stare. Greg really wasn't as dumb as he looked – he really wasn't dumb at all.   
  
"Yeah." Sara said sadly.   
  
"So…. why do you hate him?" Greg question, frankly puzzled at why Sara could love and hate a guy at the same time; a guy she wasn't even dating.   
  
"I just do." She said sharply. She didn't like his line of questioning, but she did appreciate his company, it stopped her mind from screaming.   
  
"Well, if you hate him because he's a bad person, that's ok – you've got a right to hate him," he shrugged; he knew it wasn't this reason.   
  
"If you hate him because he's acting normal, well, you can't blame him, especially if he doesn't know that you like him." They stared at each other, Sara smiled, and she actually looked happy.   
  
"When did you get so smart?" she questioned playfully.   
  
"I have a lot of time on my hands." He said, trying to sound professional.   
  
"Sara, if you ever want someone who never acts normally around you, well, I'm here," he said walking away, thrusting out his arms to emphasize his presence, before turning his back on her.   
  
"But Greg," she said, pretending to be confused, "you never act normally around anyone," she said smiling.  
  
He turned, and briefly returned her smile, then continued walking, back to the door.


	2. Chapter 2

She exhaled deeply when Greg left the rooftop.  
  
_'Women like me shouldn't be aloud to date, we like war zones, we take friendly advice as something else,'_ she thought, her smile faded into a frown.  
  
She thought of Greg's advice.   
  
She thought of Grissom.   
  
Greg was creatively fun. Immature. He could say all the right things- on occasions. He flirted with just about every woman he came across. 

_He flirted with her._   
  
Grissom was an enigma. He was an enigma wrapped in a puzzle, secret, question and crossword puzzle_. His smile_…She lovingly remembered it.   
  
One was accessible, one was not. She doubted somehow that Grissom would go out on a date with her, hell, she doubted she even be able to say the right words. And even if she did, Grissom would probably say the wrong ones.  
  
She tried to think, think of the last time she was touched; in any sense of the words. And all she could remember were the strangers she brushed by, or the victims' hand she would shake.  
  
She couldn't remember last time someone from the team had pattered her back – told her it was ok. Maybe she was meant to be alone in this world, she wiped a tear away. She breathed out heavily.   
  
She wiped her tears away, and took a moment to compose herself, before heading back to the fire escape.   
  
When she got back downstairs, she immediately went in search of Greg. She saw him behind the glass, analysing something beneath a microscope. She held her breath, and stepped into his domain.   
  
"Hey Sara, back so soon?" He smiled.   
  
"Have dinner with me," she blurted out, and lightly smiled.   
  
"**what**?" he questioned loudly, he didn't expect her to take up his offer.   
  
"Greg, have dinner with me." She affirmed.   
  
"Ok." He said grinning, before looking for a camera, this was too good to be true.   
  
  



	3. Chapter 3

"Wow, Sara, you scrub up really well," Greg said in mock shock.   
  
"Thanks Greg," she smiled. 

_Why am I here_?

Her mind was reeling. 

  
Greg's mind was also full of questions. '_Why is she here, with me?_' 

_I thought she was thinking of someone else, well, she talked about someone else on the rooftop, is she only here with me because, because I said some kind words to her?_   
  
Greg decided his only choice of action was to pretend she wanted to be here as much as he did. Maybe her mind was on someone else, but surely he could change that.   
  
Greg acted like the perfect gentle man, he pulled out her chair, he asked her what wine she wanted, and he complimented her on the jewellery she wore.   
  
Sara had never been treated this way in her life. The way he seemed to drown out his surroundings, and fully focus on her, it made her feel special.   
  
He was funny. He was smart, his interest seemed to be so broad, and for the first time in her life she felt ashamed that her only interest away from work was a scanner.   
  
Then he reached across the table and took her hand, and smiled. But he didn't receive the response he wanted.   
  
Sara shot up, and pulled her hand away, "I'm sorry Greg" she started, visibly ruffled, "I cant do this right now, I really can't."  
  
"Sara," Greg called after her, then decided it was best to follow. He didn't mind waiting for her to get over someone. He didn't mean to push her.   
  
It was too late, by the time Greg had pushed past the waiters – who insisted on payment for the meal – whether it was half eaten or not – she was gone.   
  
*          *          *          *          *          *          

  
"Has anyone seen Sara?" Grissom questioned, when handing out assignments.   
  
"No," was the simultaneous reply that echoes round the CSI's. Grissom couldn't remember the last time Sara hadn't turned up.   
  
"Ok, well, Nick, you and Catherine take the DB in the mountains…"  
  
"God, not in this heat," Nick moaned, which was greeted by a cold look from Grissom.   
  
"Warrick, you take the overdose," Grissom continued. "Ok, that's it." He said, closing the folder.   
  
"What about you Griss?" Catherine questioned from the doorframe.   
  
"I have paperwork," Grissom said, apparently distracted by the paperwork on his desk.   
  
"Not waiting for Sara then?" Catherine said slyly.   
  
"No," he said, with a note of aggression in his voice. Catherine just simply smiled at his efforts to conceal his feelings, before leaving.   
  
Grissom arrived at his office, and before he even had chance to sit, there was a knock at the door. He was expecting Sara, but, unfortunately, it was Greg.  
  
"What is it Greg," grissom said in monotone.   
  
"I, erm…" Greg found himself unable to talk.  
  
"Greg, breath, then talk." Grissom commanded. 

Greg took a minute to compose himself.

"Last night, me and Sara went out on, erm, I think it was a date, but she freaked out half way through, and kinda left. I keep phoning her, and I got no answer – and Nick told me she didn't show up today," Greg said, nervous that he may receive a lecture on the lab rules on _'relationships_.'  
  
Grissom remained silent for sometime, apparently thinking over the situation. "Did you go to her house?" he eventually questioned.   
  
"No," Greg started, "I don't even know where she lives." He said, voice full of disappointment.   
  
"Ok, I'll see if she's at home, and ill talk to her," Grissom stated, getting his coat.   
  
"Shouldn't I come?" Greg was really nervous; he didn't want Grissom to think he'd done something wrong.  
  
"Greg, I think I can handle it."   
  
*          *          *          *          *          *            
  
Grissom sighed as he knocked on Sara's door. He didn't know what state she'd be in. Was she upset with Greg? Or herself?   
  
"Hey," she said, opening the door, "I just called in sick." She said, slightly confused at why Grissom was at her door.   
  
"You don't look sick," he said, examining her face.   
  
Suddenly, realisation struck her, "Greg told you, didn't he?" she said, disappointed that Grissom probably knew about the 'date.'  
  
"Yes," Grissom eventually divulged, he didn't want to get Greg in trouble with Sara.  
  
"Come in," she said, retreating into her house. Grissom was slightly shocked that she wanted him in her home, but he decided she might need to talk.   
  
She gestured for Grissom to sit, and she did the same.   
  
"I went out with Greg, but I was thinking of you, in fact, I don't know what I was thinking," she conceded.   
  
"Oh," Grissom said, slightly embarrassed at what she'd just told him.   
  
"Grissom, help me out here, I just don't know what I'm feeling!" She exclaimed. She was frustrated, torn between what she could have, and what she wanted.   
  
Grissom held a thoughtful expression for a few minutes, then replied, "tell me briefly what you feel for Greg."   
  
Sara closed her eyes for a moment. _What did she think of Greg? What did she feel for Greg?_   
  
"I think he's cute - but I don't think I see him as anything more than a friend." Sara responded slowly, thinking about each segment of her answer before she spoke it. A small-relieved smile appeared on her face – things were starting to make sense.   
  
"What about me?" Grissom asked in monotone, slightly fearing her response.  
  
She took the same amount of deliberation over her response to this, and replied "I think I feel a large amount of respect for you Grissom, I'm not sure what else I feel for you – maybe I respect you too much," she said, and paused, her answer even shocked herself.   
  
"Feel better?" he said, with a small smile.   
  
"No." she said sarcastically. Grissom could see that she was contemplating. She was as bad as him when it came to thinking; she needed to learn to stop every once in a while.   
  
"Sara you don't have to have someone in your life." Grissom said, knowledgably.   
  
"I know, its just…I...need something in my life," she said with a huge amount of conviction.   
  
"The operable word being 'something' and not 'someone.'" Grissom responded with a grin.  
  
"I have my scanner," she said thoughtfully.   
  
"You need more" he insisted.   
  
She shrugged, and looked toward Grissom, "...any suggestions?"  
  
Slowly a beaming smile appeared on Grissom's face.   
  
*          *          *          *          *          *

  
_Grissom took Sara in the Tahoe, not answering her insistent questions of 'where are we going.' When her questions changed to 'what about work' he simply told her life, 'isn't all about work.'_

  
*          *          *          *          *          *

  
"Ah," she said, as she saw the roller coaster. "You're gonna take me on that?" she said, eyes huge with anticipation.   
  
"No – you're going on by yourself," he said slowly.  
  
She turned to him, her eyes searching for answers, "why?"   
  
"Because, you need something Sara" – he pointed to the roller coaster, "not someone," he said, indicating to himself. "And I'm sharing this with you," he said, looking toward the roller coaster, "not this" with his last answer, he indicated his heart.   
  
For the first time in her life, Sara felt in control. She beamed at Grissom, and started heading toward the 'coaster, Grissom watched her leave.   
  
Then she turned, "Grissom?"  
  
"Yeah?" he responded, he hoped that she didn't want him to say, he wanted to be with her, but he knew that it wasn't the best thing right now.   
  
"Ill be in work later, and tell Greg……tell Greg that I appreciated what he did for me," Grissom nodded in acknowledgement, and watched her run to the roller coaster.   
  
Sara felt something that she'd never felt in a long time……free.   
  



End file.
